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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Oisin Doherty

Roy Keane to travel to Bulgaria to play in Stiliyan Petrov charity match

Roy Keane is heading to Bulgaria to play in a charity match for the StiliyanPetrov foundation.

The Corkman will play for an 'international' team against a team comprising of Bulgarian legends.

Roy Keane, Nemanja Vidic, Henrik Larsson, Robert Pires and Luis Garcia will all play for the International team, with former Republic of Ireland manager Martin O'Neill leading the star-studded XI into battle.

READ MORE: Roy Keane jokes of beheading Alex Ferguson during Blarney Castle visit

43-year-old Petrov is a Celtic legend and played a key role in the engine room for Martin O'Neill's side winning four league titles in his time at Glasgow.

He played with Keane for a few months during the Irish legend's brief stint in Scotland before moving to Aston Villa to join up with O'Neill for a second time.

Petrov announced his retirement from football in May 2013 after being diagnosed with leukaemia. Later that month, a legends game was held in honour of the Bulgarian icon.

Announcing the game on Instagram in his native tongue, Petrov wrote the following:

"Dear friends, 10 years ago, you gave me the strength to get through the most difficult time in my and my family's life. Now I want to thank you and introduce "Match of Hope"! This is a charity match with a cause. The collected funds will be donated to the fight against cancer in Bulgaria. They will be distributed both among hospitals in the country and to help people who are fighting the insidious disease.

"The match will be attended by many of my friends from all over the world who will join the noble cause. At the moment, I can reveal that Hristo Stoichkov, Dimitar Berbatov, Nasko Sirakov, Mariyan Hristov and Martin Petrov will play for Bulgaria. One of the coaches will be Dimitar Dimitrov-Hero, who first believed in a kid that he could play in the national team, so that he could later become the record holder for games played.

"Roy Keane, Nemanja Vidic, Henrik Larsson, Robert Pires and Luis Garcia will join from abroad. The team will be led by Martin O'Neill - one of the coaches who played a huge role in my growth as a footballer! The date - September 6, Unity Day, was chosen specifically to show that only united can we win the big battles in life.

"Support the Match of Hope! Sofia, September 6, 2023, Vasil Levski National Stadium, 5 p.m. You can buy tickets at www.bilet.bg Thank you for your support"

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